This relates generally to integrated circuits, and more particularly, to integrated circuits with inductors.
Integrated circuits often have circuitry such as wireless communications circuitry that uses inductors. An inductor is typically formed using conductive traces arranged in a loop in layers on an integrated circuit.
An inductor formed on an integrated circuit is characterized by an inductance value and a quality factor. The inductance value is dependent on parameters such as the length of the conductive lines and the number of turns in the loop. The quality factor is dependent on the resistance of the conductive lines and coupling effects.
As integrated circuit fabrication technology advances, integrated circuit components are being scaled to increasingly small sizes. Particularly in integrated circuits such as these, it is desirable to consume minimal area when forming an inductor. At the same time, design constraints such as minimum acceptable values of inductance and quality factor must be satisfied. It can be challenging to accomplish these goals simultaneously. For example, conventional inductors that exhibit large inductance values may consume excessive amounts of surface area on an integrated circuit.
It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved inductors for integrated circuits.